Colin Garrow's Blog, page 33
August 22, 2021
‘The Great Escape’ by Paul Brickhill
My Review (5 stars out of 5) The classic wartime adventure story that tells how 600 men worked on a plan that would eventually result in 76 men escaping from a prisoner-of-war camp. With men engaged in digging, forging passports and other documents, making suitable escape outfits and keeping the Germans occupied when they got…
August 21, 2021
‘A Passion for Poison’ by Carol Ann Lee
My Review (5 stars out of 5) In post-war Britain, teenager Graham Young developed an interest in poisons. Reading and researching everything he could about his soon-to-be obsession, the fourteen-year-old landed himself in court after trying out his experiments on people. Charged with poisoning a schoolfriend and members of his own family, he was diagnosed…
August 8, 2021
‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ by Stieg Larsson
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) When sixteen-year-old Harriet Vanger disappears from a family gathering, the very fact of her living on an island owned by her family – the powerful Vanger clan – has huge implications for the police investigation. Forty years later, the girl’s body has never been found, but her…
August 7, 2021
‘The Watermen’ by Patrick Easter
My Review (4 stars out of 5) 1798 – the Port of London. Villainous Irishman Boylin gets the opportunity to take revenge on his nemesis, Captain Tom Pascoe, the man responsible for giving Boylin 200 lashes on board ship. When Pascoe is offered the position of River Surveyor in the newly formed marine police, he…
July 21, 2021
‘Looking Good Dead’ by Peter James
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When the body of a woman is found in a field in Brighton, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace is reminded of the disappearance of his own wife. However, identifying the corpse proves difficult as the dead woman’s head is missing. Meanwhile, on his train journey home, struggling businessman Tom…
July 15, 2021
‘The Talented Mr Ripley’ by Patricia Highsmith
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Striving to avoid his debts, Tom Ripley is given an opportunity when a businessman offers him a free trip to Europe to track down the man’s errant offspring. With money in his pocket and a talent for forgery, Ripley sets out to create a new life for himself…
July 11, 2021
‘Pretty Evil New England’ by Sue Coletta
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Exploring murder in nineteenth century New England, crime writer Sue Coletta tells the stories of five female serial killers – Jane Toppan, Lydia Sherman, Nellie Webb, Harriet E. Nason and Sarah Jane Robinson. Delving into their individual backgrounds, she looks at the events that drove these women to…
July 10, 2021
‘High Risk’ by Ben Timberlake
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) Ben Timberlake delves into his various careers and non-careers as an archaeologist, Special Forces soldier, combat medic and drug addict, emerging in one piece, though perhaps not quite the same man as he once was. From a truly scary near-death experience in a very dodgy bar in…
‘Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street’ Nancy Holder and Margie Deck (Eds)
My Review (5 stars out of 5) This is a compilation of essays, personal reflections and short stories using the general theme of baking as a starting point. As with any anthology, some pieces are more appealing than others but for fans of the detecting duo Holmes and Watson, there’s definitely something for everyone. Several…
July 4, 2021
‘The Bleak’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When Sam Dyke meets a new client, her strange behaviour suggests he should drop her like a hot doughnut, but something about Margaret’s story intrigues him. Working in a secret research unit, the woman has serious concerns about her boss, whose own behaviour has taken a turn for…
